The birth of a mission

On Sunday morning I left the house at 6 am to drive Pastor Pablo to one of the 16 congregations planted by his main church in Tenejapa. We arrived at the Filipi congregation for the morning service. That afternoon we learned that the congregation had begun witnessing to a nearby village and found a Presbyterian elder from another church living in the community. He was pleased to know there were other Presbyterians near-by and asked if Filipi would help him start a church in the village.

On Sunday night, Elder Estephan cleared out his small house to make room for an evangelism service. His house is plain - a 30 X 15 ft wooden hut with a concrete floor spread thickly with pine needles, as is the custom in the highlands of Chiapas. Two bare light bulbs accented with a pulsing string of Christmas lights provide the only illumination in the room. Outside, a black plastic tarp had been draped across the front porch and staked to the earthen bank to protect the small sound system from rain. A praise band from the Filipi congregation had a guitar, bass, drum and accordion set up to play so the neighbors could know that services were being held.

Five Elders from the congregation sat on benches around the walls of the hut as 15 family members and neighbors came in for the service. Pastor Pablo offered a sermon explaining the basics of the Christian faith and our belief that Jesus is our salvation. I realized that I was witnessing the birth of a new mission, a term used here to describe a small gathering of believers. After the service, the Elders from Filipi discussed the creation of the mission and asked what the name should be. Elder Estephan requested the mission be named Mt. Sinai, but that name was already taken by another mission of the congregation. He then asked me to name the mission! I was surprised and honored. After running through several choices everyone agreed upon the name, Mt. Hermon.

The Elders continued discussing details about how they would support this new mission. Then we all sat down for a meal (my fourth of the day with the Filipi Elders.) We returned to Ocosingo in the fog and rain, thankful to God for his provision of safety and for the open hearts that received the Good News on a fog swept mountainside in Chiapas.